Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Wednesday evening moved to block action on non-controversial bills such as the one to honor Pearl Harbor Day, hoping to buy more time to negotiate a longer-term solution for miners losing their healthcare. They had earler spent the day threatening to filibuster a short-term spending bill to keep the government running past Friday.
Brown and Manchin said they will continue to use the Senate’s procedural rules to throw up hurdles until they get a longer-term fix for the miners.
“We’re not leaving … if it means a session on Christmas Day,” Brown added at one point, openly fuming about GOP leaders’ refusal to budge on the mining healthcare deal.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has included a bailout for the retired miners’ health care in the continuing resolution bill that extends until April 28. But Brown, Manchin, as well as Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. want to provide a long-term solution to the pension fund’s bankruptcy problems.
“I supposed we could go all night,” Brown said when Republicans tried to move to approve a measure observing the 75th anniversary of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. “I don’t mind working late tonight. I don’t mind working late tomorrow.”
The obstruction of a host of non-controversial bills is causing headaches for GOP leaders who wanted to swiftly pass a spending bill and a few remaining items, such as the defense authorization measure, and head out of town for the holidays early.
But at one point in the evening, Manchin asked if the Senate was willing to stand and fight for “working people.”
“We’ll know tomorrow morning,” he said.
Manchin has said he doesn’t want to shut down the government over the issue, but he is using the delaying tactics to make it harder for Congress to pass the funding bill and leave town. The House is set to pass the spending bill Thursday and wrap up its work, but any change to the funding measure would require the House to return to pass a new version of the bill.
McCaskill earlier Wednesday repeatedly complained that miners were “getting screwed” by Republicans insisting on providing only a short-term fix, what she viewed as a violation of the Trump’s promise to protect coal country during the election.
The Missouri Democrat said she didn’t know yet if she is willing to shut the government down over the issue, but said Congress “should not go home until we fix this for coal miners.”
“The president-elect needs to step in and say, ‘I meant what I said about coal miners, I’m going to take care of them.’ But until he does, I don’t think [Speaker] Paul Ryan is going to listen,” she said.
The outrage over the mining issue is overshadowing another Democratic Party grievance over Republicans inclusion of language in the continuing resolution bill to help fast-track Gen. James Mattis’ nomination for defense secretary.
